


Of Cookies and Karma

by NicePumpkinSpice



Series: Of Sweet Memories and Guarded Moments [66]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-29 23:52:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3915361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicePumpkinSpice/pseuds/NicePumpkinSpice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charter has unexpected news about Evelyn's brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Cookies and Karma

By the time Evelyn finished off the last petit four, she had stopped crying. “Krem will be happy,” she commented.

“Why?” Cullen asked thinking she meant that Krem would be glad that the reunion had gone poorly which seemed completely out of character for the Tevinter.

“He wants me to put on weight. My wedding dress isn’t fitting right and can’t be altered down any further. My binge on tiny cakes will help on that front at least. I thought I’d prepared myself for the worst, but...”

“Ev, I’m so sorry. What she said was unnecessarily cruel.”

“Maybe that’s how she always was. I was so little when they sent me to the Circle. I don’t really remember them outside of a few random memories... My father putting me on a pony which I promptly fell off as soon as it began to trot. My mother sitting near a pond reading while I played with my older brother and sister. And then, of course, her reaction when my magic showed. Maybe she never loved or wanted me. Maybe it wasn’t just the magic.”

Cullen had no words for Evelyn, so he simply wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

“Josie will want the use of her office. It was sweet that she left to give me time to pull myself together, but I don’t want to overstay. Why don’t we head to the tavern? I’m sure my mother would studiously avoid anything so common.”

“You just want to hear what Sera has planned,” Cullen accused teasingly.

Evelyn grinned. “I want to hear her ideas, but I’m going to ask her not to act on them. Imagining it will be better, and I don’t want to give my mother the satisfaction of knowing how much she hurt me.”

Evelyn and Cullen reached the tavern just in time as Sera was geared up for her assault on Lady Julienne’s room. “Wanna come with? I’ve got a jar of bees, wasps, AND hornets ready to go. Also earwigs and silverfish for her lacy things. Tons of jam for her shoes and some mouse droppings shaped to look like bon bons.”

“Sera, as much as I’m appreciating the idea of your doing all that, please just leave her alone. She’s not worth our time. I’d rather we go make some Inquisition cookies and then eat them all. I’m on a mission to gain weight for the wedding.”

“Aw, I was looking forward to putting that prisspot in her place. Still your mother your rules... and we’ve not made cookies in ages. Cully Wully, are you coming, too?” Sera asked then added while waggling her eyebrows, “I’ll bet Inky will let you lick the batter off the spoon if you promise to lick other things later.”

Cullen coughed uncomfortably and Sera cackled, “Too damn easy. Like shooting arrows in a bucket.”

“You mean shooting _fish_ in a _barrel_ ,” Evelyn corrected.

“Whatever. Shooting things at stuff.” Sera held up her jar of stinging insects. “If I’m not going to use these on your mum, I need to let them go before we make our cookies. Shame Elfy isn’t around - always fun putting things in his bedroom.”

“I miss him, too, Sera,” Evelyn said.

“Ew... I don’t miss that twit. Not much anyway,” Sera retorted.

**********************

Sera and Evelyn were icing their Inquisition cookies while Cullen cleaned up the kitchen when one of Charter’s agents entered. “Sorry to interrupt. Inquisitor, Charter would like to see you in the rookery when you are available. It is about your brother, Colton.”

“Go on. I’ll finish the cookies. I’ll even leave some for you to eat,” Sera offered.

Evelyn asked Cullen to accompany her to see Charter. If there was news that quickly on her brother, Evelyn assumed that his name had shown up on a list of killed or captured Red Templars. Cullen squeezed her hand as they walked through the rookery’s doorway.

Charter stood up to greet them. “I’ve got preliminary news on your brother. We have several mages here in Skyhold that were at Montsimmard before breaking off to join with the rebels at Redcliffe. I’ve spent the afternoon speaking with them about your brother, and I think you’ll be surprised at what I’ve learned. Knight Recruit Colton was evidently quite _popular_ with the young apprentices and _sympathetic_ to their needs. Several of the young mages had high praise for your brother’s _abilities_. We’d never heard of this before because templars are typically addressed by first name only, so the mages hadn’t connected him to you.”

“Maker’s breath! Are you implying that he was sleeping with mages under his watch?” Cullen said with somewhat ironic disgust. “Even if he was a recruit, there is no excuse for that kind of behavior.” Evelyn snickered at Cullen’s reaction and the idea of her brother being a libertine templar.

“From all reports, Colton was sleeping with mages, but he was not forcing himself on them, Commander,” Charter explained. “It seems his reputation and appetites were similar to the Iron Bull’s prior to his meeting Master Pavus. Colton, however, was known for assuming a more submissive role which was part of his allure to the mages - controlling the templar rather than the other way around.”

Cullen made a disgusted noise which would have put Cassandra’s to shame while Evelyn laughed so hard that she snorted. When Evelyn stopped hooting, she said, “Charter, please write a report of what you’ve found for my mother. I’ll give it to her tomorrow as a parting gift. I doubt she’ll be interested in finding Colton at that point, but I’d love to meet my little brother if you’re able to locate him.”

“Certainly, Inquisitor, we have several leads already.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this ends the short arc that popped into my head earlier this week. I'll come back to these characters for the wedding, etc. later.


End file.
